Jin GuangYao stared at him. A moment later, as though he had finally either decided on something or given up on something, he replied calmly, “Yes.”
He looked up. In his expression were some of pride, some of calmness, and some of a faint insanity, “I and they, of course we are different!”
Nie MingJue was infuriated by his words and his expression.
He raised his foot. Yet, Jin GuangYao neither avoided nor took defense. The kick landed right on him, and again he rolled like a pebble down Carp Tower.
Looking down, Nie MingJue shouted, “It’s no wonder, coming from the son of a prostitute.”
Jin GuangYao only landed after rolling down more than fifty steps. He didn’t even stay on the ground for long before crawling up. With a wave of his hand, he sent away the servants and disciples who surrounded him. Dusting off his robes, he slowly raised his head to look at Nie MingJue. His eyes were quite calm, almost indifferent. Just as Nie MingJue unsheathed his saber, Lan XiChen happened to leave the palace to see what was going on, concerned after having waited for long. Seeing the situation before him, he unsheathed Shuoyue as well, “What happened, this time?”
Jin GuangYao, “Nothing. Brother, thank you for your advice.”
Nie MingJue, “Don’t hinder me!”
Lan XiChen, “Brother, sheath your saber first—your mind is in turmoil!”
Nie MingJue, “I am not. I know what I’m doing. He’s beyond hope. If these keeps on going, he’ll do the world harm for sure. The earlier he’s killed, the earlier we can relax!”
Lan XiChen jolted in surprise, “Brother, what are you talking about? These past few days he has constantly been rushing to and fro between Lanling and Qinghe. Is it only in exchange for your comment that he is beyond hope?”
To deal with people like Nie MingJue, bringing up the good and bad others had done to them was a good tactic. As expected, he paused shortly and glanced at Jin GuangYao. Blood streamed down from his forehead, but aside from the wound from the fall, there was also an old wound from before, wrapped in bandages. It had been hidden only because he was wearing the black gauze cap. Now, both wounds gaped open, so he took off the bandages and used it to wipe the blood from the wounds, so that the clothes weren’t dirtied. Then, he tossed it onto the ground and stood there quietly, thinking about unknown matters. Lan XiChen turned around, “You can go back. I will talk to our eldest brother.”
Jin GuangYao bowed in this direction and left. Feeling Nie MingJue’s grip soften, Lan XiChen also took away his sword. He patted Nie MingJue’s shoulder to lead him to the side.
Lan XiChen walked as he spoke, “Brother, I am afraid that you do not know. Our third brother really is in a terrible situation as of the moment.”
Nie MingJue’s voice was still cold, “In his words, he seems like he’s always in awful situations.”
Although he was saying so, his saber was already sheathed. Lan XiChen continued, “Who says he is not? A moment ago, he talked back to you, did he not? Do you think he used to do this?”
It was true that he didn’t, that his behavior was unusual. Jin GuangYao wasn’t someone who couldn’t hold down their emotions. He knew that the way to deal with Nie MingJue was to back down. The explosion-like argument indeed didn’t seem like something that he’d do.
Lan XiChen, “His mother never liked him to begin with. After ZiXuan-xiong passed away, she often hit him and scolded him. These days, his father also refuses to listen to him. He returned all of his proposals.”
Wei WuXian recalled the pile of blueprints on the table and knew, The lookout towers.
Finally, Lan XiChen concluded, “For the time being, let us not force him with too much assertion. I trust that he knows what he should do, as long as we give him some more time.”
Nie MingJue, “Hopefully so.”
Wei WuXian had thought that, after receiving a kick from Nie MingJue, Jin GuangYao would probably stay put for some time. Yet, a few days later, he still came to the Unclean Realm as usual.
Nie MingJue was on the school ground, teaching and supervising Nie HuaiSang’s saberwork in person. He didn’t acknowledge Jin GuangYao, so he stood at the edge of the field, waiting with respect. Since Nie HuaiSang was quite uninterested and the sun was bright, he was rather half-hearted, complaining that he was tired after just a few moves. He beamed as he got ready to go to Jin GuangYao and see what presents he brought this time. In the past, Nie MingJue would only frown at such things, but today he was angered, “Nie HuaiSang, do you want this strike to land on your head?! Get back here!”
If only Nie HuaiSang were like Wei WuXian and could feel how great Nie MingJue’s rage was, he wouldn’t grin in such a bold way. He protested, “Brother, the time is up. It’s time to rest!”
Nie MingJue, “You rested just thirty minutes ago. Keep on going, until you learn it.”
Nie HuaiSang was still giddy, “I won’t be able to learn it anyways. I’m done for the day!”
He often said this, but today Nie MingJue’s reaction was entirely different from his past reaction. He shouted, “A pig would’ve learnt this by now, so why haven’t you?!”
Never expecting Nie MingJue to burst out so suddenly, Nie HuaiSang’s face was blank with shock as he shrunk toward Jin GuangYao. Seeing the two together, Nie MingJue was even more provoked, “It’s been one year already and you still haven’t learnt this one set of saber techniques. You stand on the field for just thirty minutes and you’re complaining that you’re tired. You don’t have to excel, but you can’t even protect yourself! How did the QingheNie Sect produce such a good-for-nothing! The both of you should be tied up and beaten once every day. Carry out all those things in his room!”
The last sentence was spoken to the disciples standing by the side of the field. Seeing that they had gone, Nie HuaiSang felt as though he was on pins and needles. A moment later, the row of disciples really did bring out all the fans, paintings, porcelain from his room. Nie MingJue had always threatened to burn his room, but he had never actually burned them. This time, though, he was serious. Nie HuaiSang panicked. He threw himself over, “Brother! You can’t burn them!”
Noticing that the situation wasn’t good, Jin GuangYao also spoke, “Brother, don’t act on impulse.”
Yet, Nie MingJue’s saber had already striked. All of the delicate objects piled at the center of the field erupted in roaring flames. Nie HuaiSang wailed and plunged into the fire to save them. Jin GuangYao hurried to pull him back, “HuaiSang, be careful!”
With a sweep of Nie MingJue’s hand, the two blanc de chine antiques shattered into pieces in his palms. The scrolls and paintings had already turned into dust in a split second. Nie HuaiSang could only watch blankly as the much loved items that he had gathered throughout the years vanish into ashes. Jin GuangYao grabbed his hands to examine them, “Are they burnt?”
He turned to a few disciples, “Please prepare some medicine first.”
The disciples answered and left. Nie HuaiSang stood at the same place, his entire body trembling as he looked over at Nie MingJue, pupil encircled by veins. Seeing that his expression wasn’t right, Jin GuangYao put his arm around his shoulders and whispered, “HuaiSang, how are you feeling? Stop watching. Go back to your room and have some rest.”